Korean Job Discussion Forums

[laogaiguk]

[ghost]

Why would you need statistics about the fact that Koreans read much less for pleasure (and that is the key - pleasurable reading) compared with nations with similar GDP's and per capita incomes, when you have the evidence right in front of you as you travel the Seoul subway - thousands of Koreans just sitting there and staring ahead or dozing, with no reading materials to hand except in a rare case? The evidence is right there. You don't need a research sociology professor to do a sample for that.

I always observe commuters when travelling in different capital cities - and from London, Paris, Prague, Istanbul, via Japan and Seoul - Seoul and Korea are the places where commuters and travellers read the least - by far! Koreans just sit there, or compose inane messages on their cell phones.

I recall taking the KTX down to Pusan from Seoul - same story - hardly anyone reading, despite a journey of a few hours. I had the fortune of sitting next to a Korean young guy who had been studying Physical Education and biomechanics at Moscow State University, and he confessed to me that it was only when he arrived in Moscow, that he learned to read for pleasure and to read as a matter of habit. Koreans, he told me, associate reading with a 'task' to be accomplished, such as getting a better score on an exam.

Yes - some people read 'best sellers' like the 'Da Vinci code' - not because they are really interested in the book or the topic, but rather because the book was promoted ad nauseum in Korea, just like 'Harry Potter' which is another piece of 'Literature' which 'educated' Koreans feel compelled to read - dutifully, I might add.

Ask any educated Korean how many books he/she has read in a lifetime, and most will confess to not remembering, because most have not read a single book for pleasure. The only classics they may have read would have been part of Literature courses at University, for prospective English teachers. Once the course is finished - the book will be discarded. Go into any Korean home - no library or books in evidence - but plenty of DVD's and other electronic games gadgets.

Koreans associate reading with mind numbing memorization of text passages and rules from their middle and high school years. Not surprising that picking up a book is alien to most Koreans.

Ghost in Korea

[dutchy pink]

ghost says Koreans just sit on the train and "compose inane messages on their cell phones". How do you know what they are writing? Perhaps the train is like a giant book club meeting, everybody engaged in deep literary discussions, via text messasges, about the pros and cons of magical realism, debating the books they stayed up all night reading.
Perhaps the whole idea of Koreans reading for pleasure is magical realism.

[Billy Pilgrim]

Go to friggin' Kyobo bookstore on a weekend and tell me Koreans don't like books.

[pkang0202]

Do they have DMB in those other countries? Close to greater than 95% cell phone/internet coverage?

How expensive is it to get programs streamed to mobile devices in those other countries? Do they have PMP's and other crazy gadgets that people look at instead of books while traveling?

People read more books in the other countries because its:

A. Too damn expensive to get a data package for their cell phone/PDA
B. Too damn expensive to get a PMP
C. No widespread distribution of Media over wireless
D. A hundred other things that make it difficult to watch TV, movies, browse the internet while traveling.


Thats like saying "Koreans don't own as many cars as people in other countries." No kidding captain obvious, they have extensive public transportation.

Oh wait, here's another one "Koreans don't speak English as well as people from US, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, etc..."

People in Korea don't read as much because they have other OPTIONS.

[JongnoGuru]

[tigerbluekitty]

I come from southern California where people don't read books much either unless if they have some college course.


So I'm gonna admit - I don't read books much either, unless if it's gonna help me make money.

[Captain Corea]

I have found the total opposite of the OP.

I ride the subway everyday (my monthly subway bill is around 100k) and I seemorethan my share of Koreans reading. The vast majority at rush hour read those free newspapers - the rest read papers and books (even the occassional english one).

If I was to compare that to a subway ride in Canada.. shoot, I don't think I'd see even one person reading.

The OP is WAY off (as the majority here have already stated).

[KOREAN_MAN]

[ghost]

[Tiger Beer]

[King Baeksu]

My last three books in Korean sold in the five figures. Not only that, but I get long thoughtful emails and messages on my board from many of my readers here. Koreans are definitey reading, although I agree the local trend is towards instrumentalized reading. Indeed, my publisher recently told me more books are being sold in Korea compared to several years ago, despite the Internet.

Now if I could just get more of the self-righteous know-it-all expats here to read my books as much as Koreans do, I wouldn't have to barf every time I hear some English teacher complain that Koreans don't read books. Judging by the most popular threads on Dave's, if I put the word "tabang" or "racing girls" in the title, I'd sell a bloody truckload.

[IncognitoHFX]

I think if people could watch TV for cheap on their cell phones in North America, book reading would decline sharply in public places.

Besides, the only thing I saw people read on the bus back home is the Harry Potter series.

[Len8]

King Baeksu. What books did you write?

[doggyji]